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Water is coming over the gunwales and the rats are jumping ship. Storm clouds are building around the once proud grand old party. You know if McConnell is getting out from under, it's going to come down hard. Another superb letter, and another early night for you Heather! Firing on all cylinders. Thank you.

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It's an ugly mess and it's not just big money vs the whacko-fringe. There's a battle between the billionaires too. Peter Thiel leaving the board of Meta to focus on getting trumpian troll elected is but one example of the oligarchical right's extreme faction vs the more sensible big business pro-government billionaires.

It's really an ugly hot mess.

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Yes, I long for the days when the billionaires just wanted to beat us down economically. Sigh.

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Peter Thiel really is an awful. person and I love his professed love for the future of the US when he applied for and was granted New Zealand citizenship a few years ago. He is likely to be surprised when he finds out how progressive a country it is and led by a strong woman to boot.

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If a libertarian thinks he will thrive in NZ, it only proves billionaires are not all that smart.

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I only realized yesterday that he was on the board of Fuckerberg and Co. Birds of a feather flock together. Maybe something more than a drop in stock value is headed in Meta's direction and I think it is going to be ugly.

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Now Martha, I thought I was the only one calling him by his proper last name. 😉

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Was I wrong to think Thiel sees the writing on the wall re:Meta and is just jumping from a sinking ship to the militarized rat infested pirate ship in hopes of growing his fortune?

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Maybe he just hates women and democracy and isn’t thinking in monetary terms.

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Thiel’s allegiance to TFG assures us of the first two, but I’m pretty sure he’s not capable of “isn’t thinking in monetary terms” 😁.

Perhaps Zuckerberg is hoping his worth will stop plummeting if he dumps Thiel?

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I think Meta losing money is just rewards for Zuck.

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"Isn't thinking in monetary terms?" Grace, like all rich folks, you can bet Thiel is thinking in monetary terms every single second of the day, including his dreams.

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I think he might consider destroying democracy a fun but expensive hobby.

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Christy, I followed Thiel and his money, to learn what he has been up to.

'Peter Thiel Leaving Meta Board To Focus On Pro-Trump Politics'

'TOPLINE Billionaire Peter Thiel—one of Facebook’s earliest investors—plans to leave Meta’s board of directors, the company announced Monday, and plans to focus on influencing November’s midterm elections in favor of Trump-aligned candidates, according to an unnamed source cited by the New York Times'

'Thiel became increasingly outspoken in favor of Trump, speaking at the 2016 Republican National Convention and defending Trump’s “Muslim ban” in 2017, and as Facebook moved to ban Trump from its platform, his position on the board became increasingly contentious.' (Forbes)

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

'Who is Peter Thiel, the tech billionaire trying to push the U.S. to the right?'

'Thiel has been participating in national politics for most of his life, helping create a conservative journal at Stanford University in the 1980s before diving into tech investing and helping found PayPal. He used the money from PayPal’s sale to invest in other tech companies, becoming the first major outside investor in Facebook and seeing his wealth and influence rocket upward as Big Tech’s dominance grew over the past 20 years.'

'In 2016, Thiel supported Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and later served on his transition team. Now he’s playing an even more direct role in politics, funding the Senate campaigns of two of his close associates, J.D. Vance in Ohio and Blake Masters in Arizona. At the same time, he’s still a force in tech investing and plays a major role in companies including data-harvesting firm Palantir, where he serves as chairman.'

'Straddling the worlds of Silicon Valley and conservative politics has made Thiel a uniquely influential and polarizing individual, though he’s not as widely known as other well-documented political funders such as the Koch brothers. That’s likely to change as he dives deeper into U.S. politics.' (WashingtonPost)

How will Thiel use is tech smarts to be be invaluable to Trump and the right-wing candidates he is supporting?

'Since launching in 2013, Rumble, a Canadian video-sharing platform that presents itself as an alternative to YouTube, has become a right-wing haven. The site saw significant growth following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with monthly viewership surging from 1.6 million users in fall 2020 to 31.9 million by the end of 2021’s first quarter. It has since received backing from a group of prominent conservative venture capitalists including Peter Thiel and Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance.'

'After Rumble announced on Dec. 1 that it was planning to go public at an initial enterprise value of $2.1 billion, Trump Media and Technology Group shared on Dec. 14 that Donald Trump’s proposed social media platform, TRUTH Social, had partnered with Rumble.' (YahooNews)

'Thiel, whose net worth according to Bloomberg News is about $8 billion, also has a serious interest in shaping tax policy. Last year, ProPublica documented how Thiel has shielded billions of his own money from taxation by running his investments out of a Roth individual retirement account. Last year, Democrats in Congress proposed a bill that would force Thiel and other wealthy people using Roth accounts to pay huge tax bills if they ever withdraw their money. Thiel has also given money directly to anti-tax advocacy organizations, such as the Club for Growth.'

Trump has some very valuable supporters, without a doubt.

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Yikes! Without a doubt!! Thanks for sharing all this Fern! I’m afraid to wonder how many more of these thugs on a mission are hiding under rocks. I’d seen where he sold most of his shares of FB stock years ago (maybe a pre-arranged agreement?-though I’m not sure I understood that right)

If we ever win at Voting Rights we desperately need to put all our weight behind Citizen’s United. Scary that they have seated so many extremist judges, and increasingly have these rich resources to brainwash the masses

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Couldn't agree more. Thiel is big time trouble.

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Joy Reid just spent some time on Thiel. He’s even worse than I knew.

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Trump met with Thiel and a group of wealthy tech founders/CEOs 12/14/16. Not the bumbling fool so many took him for sadly.

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He is definitely an SOB! He was successful in sucking our money out of our pockets into his and now has given us the proverbial third finger. Let’s take them all down!

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Christopher, it is and it's getting worse.

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True, but remember which side has history on its side.

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Agree on all points. Thanks Richard.

I was watching CNN last night and both Van Jones and the noxious Mike Shields agreed that the Jan. 6 Committee report will not be a factor in the midterms.

I was more than mildly perplexed. I am anticipating riveting public hearings this spring. When the story is put together in toto and then memorialized in a later report, the stage will be set for a solid swing of voters jumping to the Democrats. It seems certain that Republicans will elect many disagreeable characters in the primary, people whose “views” are repellent and backgrounds dubious. (Sorry DJT, you’re not getting “only the best”.)

It seems too much to hope for “big name” indictments, but were there to be a string of those, I’d put hard cash on the Democrats winning House and Senate. Unless, of course, they find a new way to shoot themselves in the foot.

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Dems not only shoot themselves in the foot but often do so with the foot in their mouth. That's my folks, dammit.

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I respectfully and forcefully disagree. This kind of statement has found its way into the nomenclature in the USA. Very simply I refer you to the Democratic Party taking the White House, Senate and House in 2020. This in the face of a corrupt Postmaster General DeJoy and a raging Pandemic.

The Democrats have steadfastly engineered and executed an investigative Committee that is shaking the very foundations of the RNC and the Republican Party; and the January 6 Committee hasn't even begun public hearings. The vastness of their investigation alone is historical.

I was raised to stand up for the people and what I believed in. The popular pastime of disparaging the Democratic weakens public opinion and provides fuel for the opposition. Can we please stop doing this?

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Hear, hear Barbara. Strongly agree. United front!

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100% agree with you, Barbara -- so tired of people doing this. Focus on the amazing work that has been accomplished. The MSM is doing enough focusing on the alleged bad for everyone.

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Hmm. I believe you're right and my impulse for snark got the better of me. Thanks for the heads up!

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We all sure get carried away in the heat of the political moment. I know I have.

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The mark of a true critical thinker -- the ability to review something and change their mind, based on the evidence. Thank you, Richard.

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Barbara I can’t “heart” you bur I agree with you, wholeheartedly!

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Im in Portugal with the same problem and more. It turns out Russia has cyner attacked Europe’s biggest server Vodophone for the last three weeks. Our fire, police, government, hospitals, etc went to a radio backup system within 12 hours . I have lost fb, email .

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That's awful, and yet another "why aren't we hearing about this in our news?"

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It's Substack's servers. I was having trouble too

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Suspect the two think so as the hearings will probably not be carried on Fox?

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Surely they will be carried on CSPAN? Can we make a unified very loud effort to have all public places switch the channel to CSPAN to watch our government live??

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Nobody who watches Fox is going to flip blue no matter what facts they learn. We just need to get out the vote, especially now that it will be so much more difficult to do so. I’m still hopeful, or wouldn’t be bothering with races at all.

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It just needs to happen a bit faster. Mid-terns are looming, and that could spell disaster for the continuation of this very important work.

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That is the Republican plan!

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Love the metaphors Dr. Bearman ... have a Melvillean (sic) ring to them.

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Thanks. What can I say: I'm that depraved creature, a bluewater sailor, and I second Isak Dinesen when she says, The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea

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BTW, the MD is for Maryland, but thanks for the promotion!

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I, too, was wondering if you meant M.D. or Maryland, my old haunts.

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Feb 9, 2022
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That would be really nice.

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The cost of that deal might be more than we want to pay.

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Wishful thinking? Fingers crossed!!!

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We can only hope….

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That would be a shock!

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After Ronald Reagan had been caught out in so many lies that floating the idea that he might be in the early stages of senile dementia seemed a way out, one of his biographers generously termed Reagan a 'fabulist.' Although fables have morals. While the take away from the devolution of the GOP is that whereas Nixon had to deny being a crook for appearances sake, by Reagan it was more like 'so you're not a crook, good there's more for me.' Nixon was teased about putting ketchup on his cottage cheese. Reagan classified ketchup a vegetable for school lunches.

So now we have a Republican congressional caucus with what William Faulkner would call 'a kitchen full of Snopeses.' Let's just say, not top drawer.

McConnell knew exactly what happened on Jan 6 and calls it what is was. Many Republicans do. They just pretend Trump and his loyalists and lackeys - that is many of their Republican colleagues - had nothing to do with it. Republicans have long floated all sorts of lies to see what would fly. Pigs now have their own flight paths.

During the debate on civil rights legislation Republicans used their time to celebrate the end of Roe and the beginning of their reign of terror on women. The author of a new book about 'how the Republicans lost their party and got everything they wanted' said that when he interviewed people in the religious right - the GOP base - about whether after Jan 6 they still thought running with Trump was worth it, they said yes.

My kingdom for a horse.

Our democracy for a fetus.

Ketchup as a vegetable in school lunches. Trump as the second coming of Christ, Reagan, and Rambo. The Church Militant as a militia in kilts graffitiing each others' butt cheeks. And a handmaid on the Supreme Court.

Christ may be weeping. But Big Money Funnel Opus Dei Federalist Leonard Leo, the Kochs, Mercers, et al are rolling in the aisles. Diddling while Rome burns and hedging their bets they'll survive when the roof caves in. Or just that Democrats will save the day, again.

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"Pigs now have their own flight paths."

You ROCK! so much of what you write is worthy of excellence. Gratitude to you for making me laugh, making me grounded, once again, in the reality of this mess Heather continues to make sense of. Methinks the Kochs are not pleased with idjt, unloosed.

The handmaid on the SCOTUS is like icing on the cake. Empty calories.

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Lin, I simply have no one-liners to do justice to your post! Hold on, I’m trying to steal one from somebody....

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Me too! Lin, you said it best! They are the worst.

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My favorite: "Pigs now have their own flight paths."

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Lordy, Lordy, Lordy, can you become a spokesmodel for Dems. One change I would make. Our democracy for a zygote

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More precisely!

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smv 1540, Spoken like a true pedant!

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At 15 weeks in TX. Had to look up pedant and good heavens, I do like to use words correctly but didn't think of myself as: "person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning," especially not the last definition!

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smv1540, I was just riffing on lin's use of that word, and Jeri's reply to her. I had to look it up too! In your case I was using the "precise" part, not the latter definition. Good day to you! Humor helps....

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Does it ever! My dad's goal was to make my mother laugh at least 2x after she came home for the evening. He maintained that his entire life up until he passed at 102!

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Wonderful, lin…wonderful!!👍🏼👊🏼👏🏼

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It's an amazing thing to watch the Republican Party act out "The Emperor's New Clothes," isn't it?

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Where I live (NTx), the lies are believed with such passion. Hate rules the cult fools

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Or relive Pickwick Papers.

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Wow. Thank you, Lin. Fabulous piece rife with the best kind of satire. Clarity that downsizes the the edge of worry that keeps most humans in the trenches squirming a bit.

Salud.

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ThankYou.

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It takes a lot to make me smile before the sun rises and before the coffee kicks in. But you certainly did. Great wordsmithing!

Are you a writer for Colbert? Or better yet, Bill Maher?

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ThankYou. HaHa. A gadfly writing for myself. Harumph Harumph take a letter to the editor. This is my first blog community attempt.

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Yes, keep going!

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Please don't get your hopes up. Mostly I am plodding, prolix, and pedantic. When I'm not off my nut.

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You’re in terrific company, lin. Glad you’re here.

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You also are well informed and clear in your analysis - as a qualified political idiot, I appreciate your views - you help me see more clearly - deep thanks to (and for) you lin ....

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Good things take time. Stews taste better when theyve spent some time on the back burner on a low flame.

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Welcome. I would have caved in years ago without this blog. It’s been a life line.

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One of my relatives on the religious right, who thinks highly of Mike Pence, in February 2021 simply denied that there had been an insurrection that threatened his life. “It was no worse than the BLM demonstrations.” :(

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Cognitive Dissonance Impairment should be considered a psych disorder.

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Does boggle the mind

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Cult world, Rupert’s take on the treason

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I wonder if we’re related, Joan! Although most of my family is still in the Midwest.

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They wanted to hang Pence for not following trumps plan.

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They did indeed, never forget that

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Fantastic. I’d also like to remind the sedition caucus of the words of Ed Meese, noted legal firebrand and Reagan’s AG: “ They would not be suspects if they weren’t guilty”.

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Boy, did the Reagan nuts have the script for every contingency. Have people forgotten Peggy Noonan??? Of course, Meese had his own “logic.”

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Can’t seem to “heart” any of your comments, Jeri!😤

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I had the same problem for a while here in Portugal. Then al my fb came up in Dutch. Then Russia hacked Europe’s biggest server Vodophone stsrting a month ago - I’ve lost the ability to “heart”, fb, email, other icons one by one. Portugal has a backup plan they used for government, fire, police, hospitals, taxis etc within 12 hours. No one else on Vodophone had phones for a while and they’re still working on it. The other three servers here were not attacked.

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Lin, you are simply the best. I look forward to your comments.

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I agree with you, Betsy!

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So many good lines in here. My favorite: "Diddling while Rome burns."

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Lin, I join the chorus of praise. Wonderful comment, thank you. Wow, you can write!

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I do believe Steve Peha, who teaches writing to school students. He said that he tells them that learning to write effectively can change your life. Her comment is proof positive.

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Pigs as in “Animal Farm” and who’s running the show? Experts in gaslighting, before we knew the real meaning.

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Lin, you're always a breath of fresh air. Thank you.

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Lin, you made my morning!

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ThankYou. Right back at ya.

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I wonder whether Republican Representative Troy Nehls even noticed that, in his zeal to discredit Capitol Police, he let slip that January 6 was a “riot” —contrary to the “legislative political discourse” label many in his party are euphemistically spinning. Hilarious!

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McCarty to Nehls, “ dammit man, didn’t you read the memo? No talking to reporters in the hall”

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... too easy to make a slip of the tongue...

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